Perry Bland
Perry is a legend in the New England skiing community, having devoted a significant portion of 50+ years to participating in and promoting the sport of nordic skiing. After a standout high school career for Burlington high school, he went on to ski for UVM, which has long been one of the top programs in the country. He then spent 30 years coaching at UVM. After his coaching career ended, he teamed up with two St. Albans natives to start the Northwest Vermont ski club, which is now one of the most active and successful clubs in New England. He currently operates a farm in Westford, growing vegetables and raising beef cows. He has been volunteering to help with the local high school team, local events, and trail work for over ten years, and is a huge supporter of building up the ski community in the greater St. Albans area. His passion, optimism, and friendliness make him a great asset to our community, and we are proud to have him on board.
Tyler Magnan
Tyler is a St. Albans native who competed for the BFA nordic team, and went on to have a successful college career at St. Lawrence University. He is an active member of the Northwest Vermont ski club, and he has been a ski instructor at Trapp Family Lodge for over 10 years. In recent years, Tyler has stepped up and taken a more active role in the St. Albans community. He has spent hundreds of hours shoveling snow to keep ski trails going after meltdowns, as well as grooming trails, cutting brush at Hard’ack, and helping to put on good events. He also started the fall trail running series at Hard’ack. He is the president of the board and he created this organization to give others a better opportunity to enjoy the tremendous positive impact that skiing has had on his life.
Mike Mashtare
Mike is probably best known in the community as the longtime cross country running coach at BFA St. Albans. After a successful running career at BFA and Johnson State, he became the coach of both the running and ski teams at BFA. After taking some time away from ski coaching, he rejoined the team several years ago as an assistant to Scott Magnan, who is one of the many athletes he inspired over the years. He has inspired hundreds, if not thousands of young men and women to live a healthier lifestyle by enjoying lifelong outdoor actvities such as running and skiing. We’re very happy to have him on our board to help us inspire many more.
Brook Hodgeman
Growing up, Brook was a hockey player and alpine skier during the winter months. Not wanting to pursue hockey anymore, he grudgingly joined the BFA nordic team, but immediately fell in love with it, and hasn’t stopped loving it since. He went on to win a state championship title in the Classic technique his Senior year. Brook is currently studying at St. Michael’s College and continues to find lots of time for skiing and trail maintenance in between his other pursuits. He is one of the finest young men you will find anywhere, and his love of the sport helped kindle the fire that motivated the founding of this organization.